It's Definitely a Date
by fishandrice11
Summary: It's official, Mel is freaking out. It's all because Dez has asked her out, and she's not exactly sure how she feels about it - or him. She'll need some clarity, but it might take more than one date. And Dez knows that if he wants to keep surprising Mel, he can't do the same thing for a date twice. Mel's POV.
1. The Inquisition

'Okay, turn, turn, a little more height in those kicks, ladies! Aaaand Next Group!' Michelle shouts over the music.

I'm panting like crazy as I make my exit and the next group starts doing the new combination Michelle is teaching us. God, ballet is hard. I love it to bits, but it's crazy hard. It's even harder today, when I can't even focus on the stupid class.

Suddenly, I feel someone grasp my arm.

'Hey, pretty lady' Ginny breathes. 'Jeez, someone's distracted. I called you like three times already.'

'Oh. Okay' I answer vaguely and briskly move toward the back of the room.

'Melanie!' Ginny stomps her foot and catches up to me. 'Come on! How are you doing?'

'Uh, okay, I guess' I answer shiftily. 'I could use some water.'

'Are you thinking about it?' Ginny presses on.

'Thinking about what?' I ask innocently, as if I hadn't been thinking about_ it_ all morning. Or all day yesterday. Or all the time since the actual moment that Dez, Charlie's freaking Dez, asked me out. And I said Yes. I think.

'You know!' Ginny says, and suddenly whispers 'It's today, isn't it?'

'Uhhh' I say, thinking of the right answer to get my sweet but inquisitive little friend to bug off. 'Uhmm. No?' I answer stupidly. Okay, that didn't work. I pick up my pace, hoping to avoid further unwanted questioning.

'I knew it!' she exclaims as she catches up to me again. Rats, she's fast.

'What are you guys yammering about?' Boo asks as she and Sasha come up to us. Great, more questioning. Yippee! 'Is it about the d-a-t-e?'

'Yup! It's today. The d-a-t-e with d-e-z!' Ginny answers.

I sigh and succumb to the fact that I cannot escape my friends and all their probing questions which I had miraculously managed to dutifully avoid all week. 'Ginny, you don't have to spell it out. or whisper about it'.

'Oh, we have to, Melanie Segal' Sasha says. 'We are keeping this situation low profile until your apparent sever brain injury heals and you come back to your senses and realize that Humans do not mingle with Apes.'

'That's a really nice thing to say, Sasha' I answer in annoyance. Sasha tends to do that to me sometimes.

'Quiet in the back!' Michelle shouts again. 'aaand, Next group!'

'I can't believe you're finally going on your first date!' Ginny squeals excitedly, causing a few other students to look her way.

'Shhh, Ginny! the whole freaking world doesn't need to know it too!' I shush. 'And I'm not even sure if it counts as a date. He just said he'd pick me up after Ballet on today, and we'd hang out.'

'When did he say that?' Sasha asks.

'He texted me this morning.' I answer.

'You guys have already been texting?!' Boo says in a loud whisper.

'He can use a cellphone?!' Sasha snickers. 'I mean, I thought you had to learn how to read before you could start texting.'

'It's not a big deal, Boo. Sasha, shut up.' I roll my eyes.

'But he did ask you out, right?' Ginny probes, ignoring the other two.

'Uh I guess.'

'Guess? How can you guess, Melanie? It's either Yes or No.'

'I don't know, Ginny! He wasn't very definitive about our activities.' I shrug.

'Okay. Let's do this step by step' Ginny says slowly. 'How, exactly, did he ask you? Exact words, please!'

'Uh, I think he said 'Will you go out on a date with me, Mel?' and I said 'Uhh.. okay'. But I think it took me a long time before I said that. Anyway, he said he'd text and then we exchanged numbers.'

All three of my friend's jaws dropped.

'Will you go out on a date with me, Mel?' Those were his exact words?' Ginny probes.

'Uh, yeah.'

'Are you kidding me?! How could you not have been sure if this is going to be a date or not, Huh?! This is most definitely a date! I hope you prepared for it. How did you prepare for it? Are your legs shaved?' Ginny launches into her tirade of questions and starts speaking in that hundred words a second way of hers.

'Okay People!' Michelle shouts again and shuts off the music. 'That's it for today! That was some good, hard work!'

As Michelle's giving a few more announcements about our next class, I take this opportunity to slip away from my friends and to protect myself from further interrogation and my shaved-or-unshaved legs from their scrutiny.

I hear Michelle starting to say something about 'the chatterboxes at the back' when I slip out the door and climb up the stairs to the dressing room. I'm so caught up in getting away from the studio that I didn't notice Dez, in the flesh, sitting on the steps until I'm only about one step away from him.

'Dez!' I almost shout, shocked at seeing him up so close. I'm immediately aware that I'm in my tights and thin strap leotard, and all of a sudden I've never felt more naked. As an instinct, I wrap my arms around myself to cover myself up, which is ridiculous since Dez has already seen me in my ballet clothes over a dozen times. So why does this time feel immensely different?

'Hey, Mel' he smiles a smile that goes all the way up to his eyes. Why haven't I ever noticed that before?

'Wh-what are you doing here?' I ask, completely puzzled.

'To pick you up' he says, confused. 'For our date.'

_Date._ There's that word again. 'Oh. Right. You're... here!' I answer stupidly.

'Yeah' he nods, failing to notice my absolute dunce-ness and still smiling that ridiculously cute smile. 'Should we go?'

'Now?' I can't help but smile. 'I'm still in my ballet clothes!'

'Oh' Dez says, and I think I see a hint of a blush. 'You look nice, anyway.'

And now I'm the one blushing. I'm probably blushing like crazy. I look away since I am now completely embarrassed. 'Uh, just give me a second to grab my stuff and change into normal people clothes.'

'Okay' he smiles and steps off the stairs.

'Uhm. See you in a bit' I say awkwardly as I make my way up the stairs and dash into the dressing room.

Before anyone else has the chance to enter, I immediately collapse to the floor, breathing heavily. Oh My God. What just happened? I hear footsteps coming up from the stairs outside. Well, whatever that was that happened down here,it sure is making me smile like crazy.


	2. Dresscodes and Awkward Silence

Cellphone, Check. Hairbrush, Check. Extra Cab Money in case things don't go well, Check.

Is that all you bring to a date? I mean, all he said was we'd hang out after class. It's not like we're going hiking or camping... Or are we? Jeez, I hope not. I didn't even bring deodorant with me today.

I take a huge breath and face my three friends. I tried to keep them out of this, but apparently being friends for over 10 years entitles them to all information possible. Besides, I probably could use a little help.

"How do I look?" I ask nervously.

Sasha gives me a head to toe and snickers. "Like you always do."

"Is that good or bad?" I frown and face the mirror. I straighten out the creases on my cargo pants, which I'm wearing with a tank top and an old cardigan. I look down and stare at my purple converse chucks.

"At least lose the bandana this time. You look like a bandit" Ginny suggests.

"And the cardigan, too. It looks like it belonged to your Grandmother." Sasha says while making a face.

"It did" I say.

"Oh yeah, I can definitely tell. Lose it" She says.

"But I might get cold!"

"Then.. change cardigans with boo!"

"Oh no, I can't" Boo answers with a face. "It already reeks of sour milk and the winkleburn kids."

"I'd switch shirts with you but we'd kind of need to fill out your bra, and we don't have toilet paper. Oh, No offense." Ginny chirps.

Sasha rolls her eyes. "Fine, just switch clothes with me. I don't necessarily approve of Half Man - Half Ape down there, but it's simply against my morals to let you go on your first ever date in... well,_ that_."

...

I fidget in Sasha's cotton dress as I make my way out of the dressing room. Jeez, I didn't know 'Hanging Out' had a dress code or something. I sling my bag over my shoulder as I make my way down the steps.

I see Dez outside, waiting by his car. He looks up when he sees me and smiles that ridiculously cute smile which I hadn't gotten out of my head yet. God, I'm totally losing it.

"Ready to go?" he asks as I approach him.

"Yup" I smile, and he opens the car door for me. As I get inside, I'm aware of my three oh-so-supportive friends staring intensely from the stairs outside the studio. I think I even hear Boo cheer for me or something.

"So..." I say as Dez starts the car, mainly to avoid any kind of awkward silence. "What are we doing today?"

"We're having a date" Dez answers simply.

_Date_. I feel my insides tighten at that word again. I let out a nervous laugh. "No, I mean, what are we gonna do for the date?"

"I can't tell you" He says.

"Why not?" I insist, and then I realize I probably sounded too aggressive. Jeez, it's not like he's kidnapping me or something. I think. He'd kind of be a cute kidnapper. Stop it, Melanie. "Why not?" I ask again, softly this time.

"'Cause it's a secret" He answers in that easy, uncomplicated way of his.

"Oh" I say. "That clears it all up." We sit in silence for a while, as he drives and I stare at the radio. I think about the time Dez took some heat from Charlie because he thought Dez was screwing with his radio stations, when in the end it turned out to be Ginny. I allow myself a little smile as I remember this, which leads me to remember something _crucial_ to this situation. "Charlie!" I suddenly cry and sit up.

"Where?!" Dez asks.

"No, I mean, Charlie! what did you tell him?" I ask frantically. God, I was so caught up in my confusion, I didn't even think of Charlie. It would be totally awkward if he found out. "And don't you guys usually hang out on Saturdays?"

"Oh. I told him I had a date" Dez replies.

I stare at him incredulously. "And what did he say?!"

"He laughed. Said he couldn't believe it, but it was cool."

"Oh" I answer. Well that's... very un-Charlie like. I can't tell how he'd react, but that definitely wasn't it. "Wait... does he know you're on a date with _me_?"

"Oh yeah" Dez frowns. "No, he doesn't. He didn't ask."

"Oh" I say. Good. Charlie doesn't know yet. That was close. And because of the silliness of what just happened, I can't help but laugh.

Dez looks at me puzzled, and joins in. I think I like his laugh, too. Wait, what am I thinking?! I like his laugh, _too_? What else did I like?!

Before I get anymore freaked out by myself, Dez pulls up outside a nice, ranch-style house with a big, green front lawn.

"We're here" he says nervously.

"What is this place?" I ask. "Is there like a cafe in there or something?"

"No," He says, a trace of anxiety in his voice. "It's just my house."

"Your house?!" I cry out again. Jeez, maybe he is going to kidnap me. "Wait, Dez, we're not playing video games or something, are we? I'm no Charlie, okay?"

He laughs again, and I'm momentarily preoccupied by it's sound again. "Oh, I know you're no Charlie" he says, and I hope to God he doesn't notice my cheeks starting to blush. "I thought we'd just hang out first, get to know each other. You know, hang out"

"Oh" I say, unsure of what to expect.

"Come on" Dez says, smiling. "Let's go in. I have a surprise."


	3. Cupcakes

I follow Dez as we walk up to his house, basking in the silence caused by the fact that he brought me here, to _his house._

"I hope this is okay with you" He says shyly as we reach the front door. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable or anything."

I look at his concerned, slightly anxious expression, and I honestly can't help but smile. "It's cool, Dez"

He lets out a sigh of relief and grabs my hand as he opens the door to his house. His hand was warm, a nice kind of warm. In fact, It's like everything about Dez is a nice kind of warm.

"Here, It's in the kitchen" He says with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"What is?"

"The surprise!" He grins.

He leads me through the living room, the dining room, and finally, the kitchen.

"Uhm. Surprise" He says, the nervous undertone back.

My eyes widen as I take in what I see. I hadn't been expecting anything, but this, this was something new. Scattered across the kitchen counter and table were probably a hundred kinds of ingredients. I saw packs of flour, a bowl of fresh blueberries, some lemon, A jar of coffee, milk, a bag of marshmallows...

"God, Dez! did you clean out the entire supermarket?!" I ask incredulously, approaching the dizzying array of ingredients.

"It's like the Grocery Gods willed it to rain food!" I exclaim, quite awestruck as I hold a plate holding a few sticks of cinnamon in one hand and a box of snickerdoodles in the other. From the corner of my eye, I see Dez watching me intently.

"Dez, this is so cool. I love food." I say as I turn to face him. "But I don't get it. What's all this for?"

"Uhm, Cupcakes" he says nervously.

"Yeah, you're gonna have to clarify" I answer.

"I thought we could make cupcakes" He shrugs. "I thought it would be a nice way to hang out, you know."

"Oh" I say, and turn back to all the food on the counter. "But who are we feeding, exactly? all the people in Paradise?"

"Nah, just you and me" He answers simply. "And Charlie, maybe, if there's some left over."

"I think there'll be enough left over to feed all the hungry in the world. Jeez, this looks like it costs a lot!"

"It was okay" Dez shrugged. "I thought you'd like it if you could choose any flavor you wanted to make"

All this, just so I could choose what _flavor_ I wanted? I sniff an orange and stare at Dez again. "This is crazy" I say. "Crazy, and really, really, nice of you."

"Oh" He says, and visibly relaxes. "So... you're not mad?"

"No, of course not" I smile, and look over the ingredients one more time. "Okay, where's the mixing bowl?"

...

"Did you beat in the vanilla already?" I ask Dez as I line the muffin trays with cupcake cases.

"Oh, not yet." Dez says. "How much of it am I supposed to put in?"

"A couple of teaspoons should be good" I answer.

"I don't think spoons should go in the cupcakes."

"No, silly" I laugh and face Dez. "I mean two teaspoons full of vanilla. Here, I'll do that, and you start melting the white chocolate for the frosting" I say as I take the mixing bowl from him.

"How'd you learn to bake cupcakes?" Dez asks while he starts cutting the white chocolate into chunks.

"I don't know, Martha, I guess" I shrug. "And the girls and I bake stuff a lot."

"You mean Ginny, right? and the other two" he says.

"Yup. Boo and Sasha." I answer as I add some butter cream to the mixture "Hey, Dez?"

"Yeah?"

"Why'd you ask me out?" I ask, crushing some snickerdoodles so I don't have to look him in the eye.

Dez looks up at me, holding the bowl of chocolate in his hand. "What do you mean, why?"

"You know" I say. "It's not like I've been super nice to you, and neither have my friends. Why'd you ask me out?"

"I don't know" he answers. "I mean, you're really cool, Mel. And you're nice sometimes"

"Yeah, _Sometimes_" I snicker.

"No, I mean you do nice things." He says, and I turn to face him. I immediately wish I hadn't, because I catch his gaze right away. "You stand up for yourself, and for other people too. You call people out if needed. You know what you're doing. I like that about you."

He_ likes_ that about me? The feeling of my insides tightening is back as I stare back at Dez, a little stunned at his answer. I stare back into soft, innocent, hazel eyes. It was that warm feeling again. The nice kind of warm. I keep staring into his eyes until I see my reflection in it, staring back at myself.

I look down and look for the blueberries to put in the mixture. "I don't _always_ know what I'm doing" I mumble.

I don't think Dez heard me, but all of a sudden I feel his hand over mine. It wasn't like the first time we held hands. The first time, all I felt was warmth. This time, there was kind of like a tingle or a spark that raced up my arm, down my spine and through every hair in my body.

I look up at him, and Dez is still staring back at me. "I think you're better than you think you are." And as Dez said it, I feel like I could actually believe it.

...

"I think we have to wait until the cupcakes cool down before we frost it" I say, holding the pastry bag in my hand.

"I think it's cool already" Dez says, inspecting the nice, plump cupcakes.

"Here, you do the honors" I say, handing him the pastry bag.

"Hey, Dez?" I say, amused as I watch Dez scrunch his nose and focus intently in frosting the cupcakes.

"Hmm?" He asks, without looking up from the cupcakes.

"Let me be the one to break it to Charlie, okay?" I say slowly. "I know he's your best friend, but he's been my brother for a little bit longer. I'll just ease it to him gently. And also, he might hurt you."

"So" Dez looks up, pastry bag still in hand. "Does this mean we're dating?"

"Mmmm" I scrunch my nose. "I'll think about it" I smile.

"Okay" Dez answers simply and goes back to frosting the cupcakes.

I grab the blueberries and start topping the frosting with them. "There, that looks really pretty" I say. "Blueberry and Snickerdoodle Cupcakes"

"And white chocolate frosting" Dez adds.

"Martha will beg me for the recipe" I wink. "Hey, Dez?"

"Hmm?"

"I had a really good time" I say. "It was an awesome cupcake date."

Dez looks at me and smiles, and I think I know what he's about to say.

"Let's do it again sometime" I blurt out, and immediately feel like clasping my hand over my mouth.

He stands there, looking a little surprised. "Really?"

"Well, yeah" I shrug. "I mean, you've made quite an accomplishment already. To think you've already brought a girl _home_ on your _first date_" I tease.

Dez blushes and looks away, and I think I actually like that I'm the one making him blush. In fact, I think it's making me blush, too.

"Uhm, this frosting thing is stuck" he says awkwardly, still blushing and shaking the pastry bag.

"Here, let me try it" I say and take the pastry bag from him. I squeeze it, and it really is jammed. "Huh" I say and squeeze it harder this time. Unfortunately, I squeezed it a bit to hard as a blast of frosting hits Dez square in the chest.

"Oh, my God!" I half scream. "I'm so sorry!" I frantically reach for the paper towels and start wiping the frosting off his shirt.

I hear Dez laugh and I look up. "Hey Mel, you've got frosting on your face, too." He says.

"Where?" I ask, touching my face and suddenly feeling self conscious.

Dez takes some frosting off his shirt with his finger and draws a line across my forehead. "There"

"Oh, now that was already intentional" I say. "In case you forgot, the pastry bag already with me. I have the upper hand." I lift up the pastry bag and show it to him.

"How do you know I won't take it from you?" He grins.

"You're welcome to try, kind sir" I stick my tongue out, and Dez reaches for the pastry bag. I accidentally squeeze it again, squirting frosting all over the place, and then the kitchen turns into our own cupcake frosting battlefield.


	4. Paradise Wakes Up

Heaven. I am in cupcake heaven, I think as I eat another forkful of day-old first date cupcake. It's a little too early for breakfast, but I couldn't sleep anyway.

"What're you so happy about?" Charlie gives me a weird look as he walks in the kitchen in a crumpled shirt and boxers.

"Hm?" I mumble stupidly, still chewing my cupcake. Jeez, I totally forgot about Charlie! He's up early, and I do have to tell him that I'm sort of maybe dating his best friend. But I don't need to tell him now, do I? It's not like Dez and I are already official.

He frowns at me, recognizing my weirdness, and then decides he doesn't care and leafs through the fridge for food.

"Cupcake?" I offer. "You're up early"

"I got hungry" He shrugs. "Where'd those come from?"

"I made 'em" I answer honestly.

"Awesome, Prissy Cupcakes from you and your little princess friends" He says in a mocking voice.

"Then don't eat it" I sneer.

He rolls his eyes and reaches for a cupcake.

"Is this snickerdoodle?" He asks while chewing, sputtering crumbs all over the table.

"Ugh, gross" I make a face.

I hear my phone buzz, and I look over to where it is. Oh, it's Dez. Crap! Charlie! I frantically grab my phone and look over to Charlie, who is thankfully preoccupied with his cupcake and probably didn't notice his best friend's face on my phone's screen.

"Hello, uh... Madame Fanny" I say awkwardly. Charlie looks up from his cupcake with a weird look.

"Uh, no, it's me, Dez" He says from the other line.

"I know, yeah, sorry" I answer, turning around to get Charlie out of my line of sight.

"Oh. Are you awake already?" He asks.

"Uhhh.. Yeah. My pointe shoes are... clean" I say, and immediately face palmed.

"Okay" He answers simply. "But I wanted to know if you ate breakfast already"

"Uh.. I'm doing that now" I say awkwardly. Thank God I'm not facing Charlie. He's probably giving me the mother of all weird looks right now.

"Oh" Dez sounds a little dissapointed. "Did you eat a lot?"

I stress out a little thinking that Dez doesn't want me to eat a lot or I'll get fat and he won't like that and how dare he say that, it shouldn't matter what size I come in until I realize he probably just wants to ask me out to breakfast.

"Half a cupcake so far" I say, still feeling Charlie's eyes on me.

I think I hear a sigh of relief on the other line. "Are you still hungry? Or is that all you eat for breakfast?"

"Half a cupcake is _not_ all I eat for breakfast!" I snicker. Come on, didn't we eat in the same kitchen yesterday?

"Oh, Sorry. I just thought dancers, you know" He says. Seriously? He thinks we get all our ballet energy from _half a cupcake_?

"Anyway" He continues. "Can I take you out to breakfast?"

"Oh, sure" I say and glance at my watch. "What time?"

"How about now?" He asks.

"What?!" I sit up from my chair. "Now?!"

"Yeah, Come on it's a surprise. I'll pick you up"

"Here?!" I cry out again. But Charlie's here!, I wanted to say. "How about a block from here? Like at the surf wax store?" I say nervously, stealing glances at Charlie. I wish I didn't, because he's really giving me the mother of all weird looks.

"Sure" Dez answers. "I can be there in fifteen minutes" Thank heavens Dez is the most uncomplicated guy in the world.

"Yeah, it's okay" I answer without thinking, completely frazzled.

"Cool. See you later" He says and hangs up.

"Okay, Bye Madame Fanny" I say to no one in particular, watching Charlie from the corner of my eye.

I put the phone down and exhale. God, if this keeps up, it'd be impossible to keep it from Charlie. I try to calm down again before realizing that I agreed to Dez saying he'd pick me up in fifteen minutes. _Fifteen minutes!_

"Oh My God!" I say out loud and immediately stand up to grab a spoon from a kitchen drawer. I find my reflection on the small stainless steel surface. Jeez, I haven't even showered yet!

"You're acting very strange" Charlie says, still staring at me with a slightly freaked out look.

"Umm" I search my head for a good reason that would also eliminate any further questioning. "I have cramps" I finally say. Good, Guys don't like to hear about that crap.

"Ugh!" Charlie's face contorts and he sticks his tongue out.

"Yeah, I gotta go" I say and make my way out of the kitchen.

"Where?" he asks, still chewing on his cupcake. "Nothing in this town is open yet."

"Uh.." I stammer. Think, Mel, think. He thinks you were talking to Madame Fanny.

"Emergency Ballet Practice" I spit out. At least it's partly true, I do have ballet, but it's not until four hours from now.

Charlie raises an eyebrow but doesn't question me further. I take this as my cue to get the hell out of there and get ready in the twelve minutes I had left.

...

It felt like it only took a second and a half to run like hell over to the Surf wax store. I'm still panting when I see Dez's car approaching and skid to a stop in front of me.

"Hey" He smiles that really cute smile again, and I can't help but smile back.

"So, pray, tell" I say as I hop in his car. "What respectable place in Paradise serves breakfast at this hour?"

"A really good one" He grins. "You should put on your seat belt." Before I could react, he reaches over me and pulls out the seat belt. I'm quite aware of how close we are at the moment, and it makes my skin tingle in a weird way which I really don't like to acknowledge or talk about.

"Ready?" He asks and I nod. Immediately the car shoots forward. I turn and gape at Dez, but he looks perfectly calm.

"Uh, I think we may be a bit over speed limit" I say.

"Yeah" Dez answers easily, looks over to me and smiles again.

"EYES ON THE FRICKIN' ROAD!" I half scream. Okay, last minute breakfast arrangements at six in the morning plus driving like a madman? How many sugar-packed cupcakes did he eat?!

"Sorry" He says. "I just don't want us to be late."

"Late?" I blink. "For what? the town is practically asleep"

"Exactly" He says and turns to me again.

"Wha-? Hey, ROAD!" I scream again. I let out an exasperated breath and lean back.

"Calm down, Mel" He shrugs, still smiling. "There's no one else on the road"

"Yeah, but there are trees, fire hydrants and very large buildings" I answer sharply.

"I swear I won't crash the car" He says easily. "We haven't even kissed yet"

I stare at him. _What?_ He looks at me simply and shrugs. I'm about to go off about keeping his eyes on the road again but he immediately refocuses his attention on driving.

A few minutes later we reach the foot of a mountain with the road continuing uphill. He switches gears and the car starts to climb. It takes another while, but we finally stop and get out of the car. "Close your eyes" He says, and I do so.

Dez takes my hand and leads me along. I hear the clink and clatter of a few stuff, so I know he's bringing other things with him.

"Don't let us fall off the mountain" I mumble and I hear him laugh.

"One more minute, I promise" He says as he lets go of my hand. I hear the sound of a blanket being unfolded along with more familiar clatter. "It looks like we're on time"

"On time for what?" I ask.

"The surprise" He answers. "Open your eyes"

I do so and I gasp. The view is unbelievable. The sky is filled with streaks of pink, orange and red that break through the navy blue mass.

Below it is our small, humble town of Paradise, surrounded by a mass of green trees. We're quite high up to see most of the town, but still close enough to recognize the buildings easily.

"It's so quiet" I say. All the stores are still closed, not a single car on the road or a single person on the street. Paradise was asleep.

"Give it a few minutes" Dez says as he takes a seat next to me. "I come here a lot. The view is always nice, and it helps me calm down or think about stuff" It helps him _calm down_? I've never seen Dez as anything_ other_ than calm.

"I had a really good time yesterday" He continues. "After that, I thought today would be a good time to come up here. Then I thought, you know, 'What if I brought Mel up here?'"

I turn my head and stare at him. He really thought of me, and more than that, He wanted to bring me up here, and I can tell this is his secret spot, his special place. I start to feel all warm and gooey inside and I lean my head on his shoulder.

"Look over there" Dez says as he take a seat next to me."Bash is opening the coffee shop"

I stare until I see the tiny figure of Bash opening up his shop and drawing the curtains up.

"And look, that's Godot" Dez says in a half whisper. "They're opening up the oyster bar"

Sure enough, I see a figure that can only be Godot carrying a two cardboard boxes stacked together and making his way through the back of the restaurant. Nina, the owner's wife, is arranging chairs around the outside tables.

"So this is what stalking feels like" I joke, and I feel Dez's shoulder move under my head as he laughs.

I sit in comfortable silence watching people begin to leave their house, cars start dotting the roads, shop owners sweeping the sidewalks in front of their stores.

"That's so cool" I say quietly. "Although I feel like a murderer quietly observing the people and secretly choosing my next victim"

Dez laughs again. "I know, but I still like this place a lot. I get to see Paradise wake up"

_Paradise waking up_. I like how that sounds, and I look up at Dez and see that he's already staring at me. I'm drawn by his hazel eyes again. A warm kind of color, just like Dez again. Nice and warm. He gazes at me for quite a while without saying anything, and I actually think he might kiss me. He opens his mouth and says, "Hey, are you hungry already?"

"What?" I blink. Okay, I didn't expect_ that._ "Oh. Uhm, Sure"

I stare absentmindedly at Dez as he takes out a tray of eggs and a couple of cans of spam from the cooler. From the corner of my eye I see a tiny stove and pan by the blanket.

"What's that?" I ask, still a bit confused by what just happened.

"A camping stove" He answers without looking up. "It was my dad's. He used to like camping but now he says he doesn't have the time or the back to do it"

"Oh" I say. Okay, Mel. Snap back to reality. I put the kind of almost kiss situation at the back of my head and exhale. "Hey, can I help?"

"Yeah" He says. "The plates and stuff are in the other bag"

I look around and find a white canvas tote lying near the blanket and I take out the paper plates and plastic cups and utensils.

I look back at the view. "The town's really buzzing now" I note, watching more cars and people spill out on the streets and roads, all of them needing to get to places they need to be. "I think only the ballet studio's still closed" I add with a laugh. "It's Madame Fanny's day off and Michelle doesn't wake up until she absolutely needs to"

I lean back and watch Dez crack an egg. He really is an uncomplicated kind of person, and incredibly nice and thoughtful, too. How did he ever end up being friends with _Charlie_? And... why the hell didn't he kiss me?

Dez notices my silence and looks up from the stove. "You okay?" he asks.

"Yeah" I say and force a smile. "Breakfast smells good, need help?"

...

I stare out the window and wrap my cardigan tighter around my shoulders. I had at least an hour to get home, get ready and get my butt over to ballet. Crap, I'll have to face _The Inquisition_ from the girls again.

Dez pulls up outside the Surf Wax Store again. "You sure you don't want me to take you home?"

"It's fine" I shrug. "It's a Charlie thing"

"Mel, are you okay?" He asks again. "You're really quiet."

_You didn't kiss me,_ I think again. I realize I'm not being fair being all quiet and withdrawn, but I'm still completely confused. I mean, didn't he say just today that he wouldn't crash the car because he hadn't even kissed me yet?

"I'm okay" I try to smile to lighten the mood. "Just a couple of things in my head"

"Oh" he says. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

I frown. "Why?"

"Well, if something's bothering you, you should talk about it" He answers in that calm, unaffected way of his. "You'll feel better afterward."

"And you'll listen?" I ask without really thinking.

"Well, yeah" He answers. "Of course"

I lean back, silent and take a few seconds to think. "You're the first person who's ever asked me to talk about my problems" I say quietly.

"What?" He asks, leaning forward slightly to hear me better.

"I said you're very nice" I answer, loudly this time. "Nice enough to ask me out. Nice enough to bake cupcakes with me. Nice enough to... call out of nowhere and cook breakfast. Nice enough to actually ask me if anything's wrong" I blurt out. "You're very nice, Dez, and I'm sorry I'm just realizing that now. I really am"

"You don't have to say sorry" Dez answers quietly. "Is that what's bothering you?"

I turn and stare at Dez, looking at me, concern evident in his face, and I felt it was actually okay to tell him about what had bothered me.

"No, Dez" I answer. "It sounds silly now, but when we were up there, looking at the view and talking about stuff, I really thought you'd... kiss me. It was the perfect moment for it, and now I'm just confused"

Dez looks a little shocked and takes a short pause to answer._ Crap,_ maybe he never even wanted to kiss me in the first place.

"So I can kiss you?" He asks.

This shocks me a little, and I sit up in my seat. "What?"

"Can I kiss you?" He asks again.

Wait. Is this what he was waiting for? _Confirmation?_ That I'd say... _Yes_?

I blink and stare at him again. "I guess" I finally answer.

I'm not really sure what happened next as the entire moment seemed to go by in a blur. I feel Dez lean forward, and I feel his soft, warm lips against mine, and it's a completely different feeling from talking or holding hands. It's like I feel a series of tiny sparks travel down my spine, up my arms and through every single nerve in my body. It's so much that I can't even think, It just feels like my head might explode.

Dez pulls away first, still looking at me and his hand still touching my face.

"Uhm" I say awkwardly and let out a small laugh. "That wasn't... too bad"

I hear Dez laugh again and he puts his hand down. Almost immediately my hand goes up to touch the part of my face which he had just held.

"I _think_ you have ballet in an hour" He says, leaning back on his seat.

"Yeah" I say, still a bit breathless. "Hey, are you kicking me out?!" I tease.

"No, I'm trying not to get you into anymore trouble" He answers with a smile.

"Fine" I grin and unbuckle my seatbelt. I grab my bag from the back and make my way out of his car. "See you tomorrow?" I ask, and I see Dez's surprised look.

"Okay" He agrees, still smiling. I even gather the courage to wink at him as he drives off.

I sigh and sling my bag over my shoulder. Nope, that wasn't too bad at all. Crap, I can't stop smiling. People on the street will think I'm crazy. I stare at the ground, still looking like the freaking cheshire cat, as I start walking back to my house. All of a sudden, a round bar of surf wax rolls up to my feet.

I look up to see where it could've come from, and I immediately stop in my tracks. About five feet away from me stands Charlie, mouth open and face mixed with shock and disbelief. A clear plastic shopping bag is at his feet, and I see another bar of surf wax rolling down the street.

_Charlie!_ I gulp. "Oh, Crap"


	5. Slutting It Up

"Charlie" I call out, approaching my shell-shocked brother. He had just witnessed his best friend and his little sister do the one thing that best friends and little sisters weren't supposed to do. We had kissed, and behind Charlie's back, nonetheless.

Charlie's staring at me, eyes wide and mouth open. He's quiet for over a minute, and I stare at him desperately.

"Say something!" I beg. Shit, I hope he's not having a stroke or something.

He's absolutely quiet and staring into the distance, his face a mixture of emotions I didn't event think he had. He looked a little hurt and confused, but definitely shocked. After what seemed like the longest time, he turns to me, now looking completely pissed off.

"How the hell could _that_ have happened?" He seethes.

I gulp. This is bad. "He.. asked me out" I say quietly, figuring honesty couldn't possibly do and more damage to the situation.

"When?" He spits out.

"Last week" I say slowly. "And we went out. Yesterday. Cupcakes" I say, trying to organize my thoughts. "And today, too. That's all"

"_That's all_?" He sneers. "I think you're over at Ballet, and then I catch you macking all over frickin' Dez, and all you can say about it is That's all?!"

"I'm sorry, Charlie!" I say, throwing my hands in the air. "I didn't mean for you to find out like this, okay? I was going to tell you! I honestly _planned_ to. you just caught us here! I mean, I didn't even know you surfed!"

"Oh, sorry for messing with your _plan_ then" He says in a mocking voice.

"_Crap_" I breathe.

"Yeah, Crap_ indeed_" he half shouts. "I mean, how could you _do_ this, Mel?!"

I stare at him, feeling the hurt he conveyed in his words. "Charlie, I really didn't mean to-"

"You know what?" He spits out, cutting me off. "I don't want to hear it. I'm sick of all your crap!"

I stare at Charlie, unsure what to do. Normally, I'd hit him in the back of the head if he said something like this, but today I really feel like I did him wrong.

"I am completely sick of picking up your pretty, princess crap!" He continues. "I'm sick of you planting shit in my room to get me grounded, and you ratting me out to Mom and Dad for every little damn thing, and driving you around all day like miss friggin' daisy, and... slutting it up with my best friend!"

I pause, and I feel my mouth turn dry. "_Slutting it up_?"

Charlie's breathing hard now, and he looks at me again with a piercing glare. "Yes, _exactly_! and tell your_ boyfriend_, I'm done with him too!" He shouts and stalks off, leaving his bag of surfwax and me, completely speechless, alone on the pavement..

...

I'm almost running on my way to the Ballet Studio with my dance bag slung over my shoulder. _Slutting it up?_ I can't believe he said that. I can't believe this whole, perfect morning turned into such a disaster. God, I hope I'm not late. That would just be the perfect thing to top off the crazy Charlie debacle. Since there was absolutely no way I could get a ride from Charlie and I didn't want to drag Dez into this, I opted for the obvious solution: running like hell.

"Oh my God" Ginny gasps, her face mimicking horror as I walk in the dressing room. "You look horrible!"

I stare down at my clothes. Button-up Top and Pants. Hair messed up, but I smoothed it over on my way up. I had the insanest morning, as far as insane mornings go, but I thought I at least looked okay.

"Not_ clotheswise_" Sasha says.

"You look really sad" Boo notes, frowning.

"I feel like death walked in the room when I saw you" Sasha adds.

"Was the date really that bad?" Ginny asks, her nose scrunched up.

"What?" I stare blankly at them for a moment, before realizing that they meant my first date with Dez. The Cupcake date. God, did that really happen only 24 hours ago?

I look at the curious faces of my friends, and I realize that they don't even know about the _kiss_, much more Charlie going crazy. So many things had happened in less than a couple of days and all they know is that yesterday, after ballet, Dez picked me up for our first date.

I stare at them for a few seconds more, wondering where to start. Just then, I pull the string that held my emotions together and spill everything that had happened, not necessarily coherently or in order.

"Slow down" Sasha says calmly. "Breathe. Boo, water bottle" she orders. "Breathe Melanie, or very bad things will happen to your lungs."

I take a deep breath and drink a gulp of water. I am completely breaking down now, but I think I manage to give most of the details of what had happened. From the corner of my eye, I see the other dancers had conveniently and inconspicuously exited the dressing room, leaving just the four of us behind. I take another gulp of water.

"I can't believe Charlie is such an A-hole about this" Ginny says. "I mean, I know you did what you did, but you are no _slut_, Melanie Segal. I know sluts. I have seen sluts. There is a specific criteria for being a slut, and you wouldn't even meet half of it."

"He's been an idiot forever, Melanie. It's not surprising he'd say idiot things" Sasha says.

"I can't believe all that happened in less than _two days_" Boo shakes her head.

"I know" Ginny agrees. "I mean, we were still talking about the horrors you probably encountered for your first date when you came in."

"I have to admit, the Cupcakes were very charming and spot-on" Sasha says. "Apes do evolve."

"Not now, Sasha" I say tiredly.

Sasha looks at me without remorse, but still offers me more water and wipes my cheeks with her dainty lace handkerchief.

"I really didn't think you'd actually _like_ Dez" Boo says.

"What?" I ask, a little shocked, and turn to face Boo. "Boo, I can't actually _like_ him. We just had our first date like one second ago_"_

"You don't like him?" Boo asks, a little shocked.

"No, I mean, I _do_ like him, because he's nice and everything. But I can't _like him_, like him."

"Sorry, I don't speak idiot" Sasha sneers, and this makes us quiet for a while.

Finally, Ginny speaks. "I think you do, Mel._ Like him_, like him. I really do"

I'm considering this, adding the idea into the jumble of thoughts in my head, when I'm interrupted by Boo. "So, what are you gonna do about Dez and Charlie?" she asks.

I stare at my feet and think about it for a while. "I... don't know" I answer honestly.

I sit in silence again, still pondering, and feel a hand on my shoulder, as well as two more holding each of mine.

"I'm sorry, guys, I'm just completely confused" I say with a sniffle.

"It's okay" Ginny says, leaning her head on my shoulder. "It happens."

"You know.." Sasha starts, breaking the silence. It's okay to like him..._ like him_, Mel" she says, much to everyone's surprise. "I can see he's not absolutely hopeless. I mean, I can't believe he actually thought about taking you to see the sunrise."

"I _know_" Ginny agrees quietly. "I mean, I thought he was just gonna take you to the Oyster Bar for some fries and free tap water."

"And ketchup" Boo adds. "Ketchup is free, too."

I smiled, for the first time since everything went to hell, and for some reason, despite the situation and my sad, sorry ass all over the floor, the four of us burst out laughing.

...

"Hello?" I hear Dez's voice from the other side of the phone. We had just wrapped up class, which we were also late too, given my emotional breakdown. Thankfully, it was Michelle's turn to teach and she understood psychotic breaks better than anyone.

"Hey" I say with a small sigh.

"Are you okay?" He asks, his voice cracking just a bit, too.

"Charlie knows" I say immediately, moving toward the woods that faced the ballet studio and effectively isolating myself from the rest of the ballet civilization.

"Oh" He answers and doesn't say anything more.

"He saw us. In your car. Near the surf wax store" I say slowly. "I should've told him right away"

"It's not your fault" He says immediately.

"Well, he's mad as hell at me" I answer.

"He's mad at me, too" Dez replies.

I pause, a bit shocked. _Crap_! Charlie already went to Dez?! I should've known he would do that! "You spoke with Charlie?!" _Are you beat up and left for dead_, I wanted to ask.

"A bit. He talked more than I did" He answered. "He called me an hour ago. He was really mad"

"Well, what did he say?!" I press on.

"That he can't believe I did that to him, and he didn't want to talk to me again. He didn't say why, though, So I didn't know. Now I do" Dez replies, speaking quietly over the phone.

I take a deep breath and crush some tiny flowers under my foot. "Dez," I start saying. "I think we should lie low for a while. Cool off a bit"

"Lie low?" He repeats, and I hear the confusion in his voice.

"It's been a whirlwind of a weekend" I say slowly. "Of both awesome and horrible moments. But it's been really fast, and I'm doing things before I can think them through. God, and I have to think about dealing with Charlie, too. I can't... It's.. It's a lot" I try to say, but fail miserably.

Dez is silent for while. "Okay" he answers calmly, without even a trace of confusion, anger or hurt.

"Really?" I ask, surprised.

"Yeah, It's cool" he says. "I get it. A lot of stuff happened, and you have to work things out with Charlie."

"Yeah, exactly" I breathe, both relieved and sad. "I'm sorry"

"Mel, you don't have to be" Dez says. "It's not your fault"

"Okay" I nod, and continue to stare at the ground. "I'll call you, when I figure things out."

"Okay" he says easily. "I'll wait, then."

And with that, he hangs up.

...

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update. The course I'm taking has summer class (or more like a summer internship kind of thing) and it started last week, so I've been crazy busy. Not a lot is happening in this chapter, but I didn't want to give you guys a 5000-6000 word long chapter O_o Anyway, I'm breaking it into about 2 or 3 chapters, and I want to dedicate an entire chapter to Charlie ;) and Thank you for the reviews :) I do appreciate them a lot ;)  
**


	6. Pas de Deux

It's ballet class, and Madame Fanny has all of us squatting on the studio floor. I think she's talking about partnering for the recital a few weeks from now, but I'm really not even listening. It's been five days since Charlie's meltdown, and thoughts of it have been sitting rent-free in my head ever since.

"Melanie" Boo says in a loud whisper and nudges my ribs.

"Ow!" I say, jolted back to reality. I notice that everyone in class is already staring at me, including Madame Fanny.

"Nice of you to join us, Melanie" Madame Fanny says sternly.

I give a sheepish grin._ Crap._

"I have called your attention twice already. In the studio, we do two things: listen, and dance" Madame Fanny scolds. "Daydreaming is reserved for car rides home, or classes at school."

I gulp. "Sorry, Madame Fanny"

"As I was saying..." she continues, and I breathe a sigh of relief. "If you work in a company, most of the time, you will not have the privilege of having to choose your Pas de deux partner. Sometimes, the Art Director even partners you with someone who you wouldn't necessarily hang out with."

"I heard that's because your partner could secretly hold a grudge against you, and then drop you when you're like a hundred feet in the air" Matisse chirps, and she's shushed by a few more girls in class.

"Never interrupt Madame Fanny" I hear Boo whisper to Matisse.

"Today, I will pair you up randomly" Madame Fanny continues, ignoring Matisse. "The first pair would be... Jordan and Ginny"

I stifle a laugh and try to catch Ginny's eye. I eventually do, and I give her a thumbs up while she rolls her eyes and mimics hanging herself.

Madame Fanny calls out a few more pairings before I hear my name. "Melanie and... Carl."

"What?!" I ask, absolutely jolted. I hear Carl saying the exact same thing and looking just as shocked.

"But-" I start. Crap, I promised Boo no more short Carl jokes. I can hear other students murmur and snicker. "But..." I try again. "I'm like a tree! And Carl is like.. a _mushroom_. No offense, Carl" I say.

"Carl is not a _mushroom_" Boo says.

"Yes, I'm perfectly human, thank you very much, but Mel does have a point" Carl answers. "She's... taller than most girls"

_And you're shorter than most boys_, I wanted to add, but hold my tongue. "And, we're also already friends via Boo and totally hang out a lot!"

"I don't think Carl would drop anyone a hundred feet in the air during lifts" Madame Fanny says. "Isn't that right, Carl?"

Carl gulps and quietly nods.

"Then I don't see the problem!" Madame Fanny says innocently. "Besides, it's just for the next couple of classes. We'll switch partners regularly before we select the pairings for the recital."

_Damn it._ I glace at Carl nervously. Here we go, the tree and the mushroom doing a friggin' Pas de Deux.

...

I'm in school the next day, still studiously avoiding Charlie and Dez. In fact, the three of us have completely ceased talking to each other these past few days. That's actually pretty normal for me and Charlie, so it's the Charlie - Dez breakup that's making rounds in the school's gossip circuit.

I sigh and splash water on my face while I stare at myself in the bathroom mirror. Given that I hadn't been getting much sleep this week, I look and feel like a zombie.

I look down to close the tap when I hear a voice behind me.

"Hey,"

I quickly turned around, only to face Dez.

"What the _hell_!" I half shout and half whisper. "Dez! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Dez looks at me blankly. "That sounds like what my uncle had"

"What the hell are you doing in the _girl's bathroom_?" I say.

"I saw you walk in, and I thought I had to talk to you" He answers simply.

"And you didn't think anyone would see you come in here?" I ask sharply, and immediately regret it. I'm the one who's been giving Dez the cold shoulder, he didn't deserve any snark.

"No, everyone's at the assembly" He answers, which is true. The whole school is attending some boring assembly about abstinence or something and I just had to duck out or the awkwardness of it all would eat me alive.

I exhale and turn around to face the mirror. "Look, Dez. I know I haven't called you.." I begin.

"It's okay" Dez says immediately, which surprises me. "You said you'd call when you thought things through."

I frown, and stare at his reflection. "So.. why did you follow me in here?"

Dez shrugs, and I think I see a shadow of a pained expression on his face. "I kinda missed you."

I'm quiet for a while before I answer. I kinda missed him, too, but I don't say it. "Dez, I can't talk to you about all of it yet. I can't. I haven't even talked to Charlie. I don't know how, I don't know when. I really hate him right now, but I can't help feeling guilty either."

"I know" Dez answers calmly, surprising me again. "It's okay, Mel. I get it. We don't have to talk about it. I just... wanted to know how you were doing"

"Oh" I say, surprised again. "So you follow me... to the most _inappropriate_ place in the world... to catch up on what I've been up to?"

I see Dez's pained expression, and immediately curse myself for it.

"I'm sorry" I immediately say, and take a long pause before I speak again. "Okay, well... I haven't used my house's front door in nearly a week, since I might pass Charlie on my way out, and instead I've been falling out of my bedroom window. I've been walking a lot, since no one will drive me. Derby hasn't changed. Ballet has gotten harder since the recital's coming up, and we're doing a Pas de Deux. And I have the shortest partner in the universe, but he's dating my best friend so I can't really say that out loud."

"Cool" Dez says, and even as I suspect he didn't understand half of what I was talking about, I think it made him happy just to hear how I was doing. "What's a... Pass doo-doo?"

"A Pas de Deux" I say again, feeling a bit silly. "It's a partner thing."

"Oh" Dez answers, and stays quiet for a minute. "So, who'd you get paired up with?"

"Carl" I answer. "Short Carl, which makes me feel like an awkward, gawkish giant."

"You don't look like a giant" He says, and I allow myself to smile a little. Dez is quiet for a while, as if he's pondering something.

"What are you thinking?" I ask.

Dez looks up and answers calmly and without hesitation, "That I'm really glad Carl already has a girlfriend."

...

"Remember, the shoulder sit is one of the most regal and elegant lifts in ballet" Madame Fanny says, standing against the piano. "Remember, girls, it helps to stick out your buttocks, as it would be easier for your partners to place you. Remember, injury rates are high."

"So, how are you and your brother?" Carl whispers. "I heard about the dating his best friend thing"

"_What?_ How do you know about_ that_?" I ask, wide-eyed.

"My mom told me" He answers simply.

"How could-" I start, becoming a bit frantic, but I immediately give it up. Half the town probably already found out about it the moment I left the surf wax store that day.

"You know, a lot of us are rooting for you and Dez" Carl says as I do a simple releve.

I stop and step away from him, completely shocked. "A lot of us? Who's _a lot of us?!_"

"Some kids at school" Carl shrugs. "Boo, Boo's parents, the local baker..."

My jaw drops open. _Seriously?!  
_

"Yeah" He shrugs. "I kinda wished you guys would work out, even before you were officially going out."

I stare stupidly at Carl. I wanted to ask him why, but I think it came out as "_Hwaarr?_"

"No reason, except that you kinda work well together" He answers. "It's like me and Boo, you know? It feels right. You and Dez? It feels right too."

_Me and Dez_, are like _Boo and Carl_? Dez and I make cupcakes. Boo and Carl are married with children.

I shake my head and get back in position for the lift."Okay Carl, that's enough gossip for one class. Let's get back to the stupid life before we get anymore heat from Madame Fanny" I say tiredly.

Carl laughs as I do a plie, and I feel him pick me up and place me on his shoulder in one smooth lift.

_That wasn't too bad_, I think.

"Uh-oh!" Carl says out loud, and before I could ask what was wrong, he slips forward, and I feel the full weight of my body tipping forward, falling and crashing to the floor

...

"Are you okay?" Ginny asks, taking a seat beside me.

"Totally" I say sarcastically. "I am not only completely embarrassed, but my ribs feel like they're on fire."

"Are you sure you don't want us to drive you to the hospital?" Ginny asks, concern evident in her face.

"No, It's fine. I'm calling my parents to see if they could pick me up."

I don't mention that I'd been trying to call my parents for the past 15 minutes, but all my calls are going through to voice mail.

"I could drive you, Mel. I don't mind." Sasha shrugs.

"Sasha, really" I say. "It's not like I'm having a heart attack. I don't want to disrupt class any further. It's not a big deal, I don't even think I broke anything"

Madame Fanny had wanted to end class early and take me to the hospital, but I insisted I was fine and my parents could come pick me up so I could get a nice check up without disrupting any more ballet classes. Unfortunately, my parents are AWOL, all my friends I knew who had a car were still in tights and pointe shoes, and the stupid town doesn't have taxi cabs.

"At least let us come with you to the hospital" Boo says. "And Carl's really, really sorry."

"I know, Boo, He's been apologizing non stop since I fell. It's fine. He's forgiven." I say. "And don't come with me to the hospital. I can't let you guys miss class, especially with the recital coming up"

"Okay," Boo says. "But we'll go visit you after. Are your parents coming?"

"Mel, if no one's picking you up in the next one minute, I'm driving you to the hospital myself" Sasha says, her arms folded across her chest.

I stare at my phone screen. "Okay," I answer quietly. "Just let me try calling two more people."

I find Charlie's number in my contacts list and call him. It's four o'clock on a Friday, which means Charlie is doing virtually nothing. I let it ring a few times, and when he doesn't answer, I end the call. No use calling someone who wants nothing to do with me.

"No luck with Charlie?" Ginny asks.

"I didn't expect any" I answer.

"Who's the other person you're gonna call?" Sasha asks.

I rummage through my contacts list, find the number of the last non-ballet person I knew who had a car, and press Call.

"Hey" Dez picks up immediately after the first ring.

I smile, despite the miserable situation I was in. "Hey to you, too."


	7. Interns and X-rays

"Is it_ Seagal_ like the actor, or _Seagull_ like the bird?" the intern asks me, holding a pen up to his clipboard.

Paradise has only one hospital and its ER is nothing like what everyone sees on TV. For one, there's the absence of frantic running around or screaming. Also, the drool stain on the intern's white coat tells me he just woke up from his nap.

"It's S-E-G-A-L" I correct. "Is the nurse calling my parents?"

"Yeah, she's getting their numbers from your boyfriend" He answers.

"He's not my boyfriend!" I say immediately, sitting up a bit too fast, causing me to wince. I clutch my side as I look over to the nurse's station, where I see Dez talking to a yawning nurse.

"If you say so," the intern answers nonchalantly. "So, I see here that you fell off... a _boulder_?"

"It's supposed to be a _shoulder_" I say. "I fell off my partner's shoulder in class"

The intern gives me a weird look, the kind of look which people usually give Ginny's mom when she starts talking about Faye Mendelson's wedding.

"How, exactly, do you fall off... a _shoulde_r?" He says, confused.

I roll my eyes and sigh. "Well, _I _have a couple of inches to spare, while my partner lacks about six. It wasn't meant to be. Oh, please don't tell my best friend I said any of that."

"It's like a dance thing"I hear Dez say, and I see him approach from the corner of my eye. "Right, Mel? It's when the guy picks up the girl and puts her on his shoulder. It's kinda cool"

"How could you possibly know that?" I ask Dez, a little bit awestruck. "I'm pretty sure they didn't cover that in P.E. class"

"Uh, it's on the internet" He answers, and I note a blush creeping up his cheeks. "I looked it up after you told me about your partner thing"

"_Why?_" I ask immediately. I mean, I can't exactly imagine Dez reading up on Baryshnikov and the Bolshoi.

"I don't know. You like it so much, I thought I'd check it out" He shrugs. "See what all the fuss was about"

Before I could respond with a joke about Dez checking out tutus and pointe shoes, the intern clears his throat.

"Alright, then" The intern interrupts. "So, it looks like your ribs are only bruised, but we're gonna have to do a chest X-ray to rule out any fractures."

"I'm no good at fractions" Dez offers, facing me. "I hate math"

I let out a little laugh as the intern leaves, giving us another weird look. Jeez, if he thinks _we_ were weird, he's obviously never been given a thorough tour of Paradise. Or at least shopped at Sparkles.

"Oh, and the nurse called your parents" Dez adds. "They were at a conference at Ojai or something, but they said they're on their way back."

_Right, Ojai_. I vaguely remember Mom and Dad mentioning it this morning, but I was too preoccupied with my Charlie-Avoidance Tactics.

"Hey, thanks for picking me up" I say, and give Dez a smile. "And for, you know, everything else. Once again, it's completely nice of you"

"It's okay" Dez answers with a shrug. "I wasn't really doing anything, anyway"

"Oh" I answer, and I feel a slight twinge of disappointment that he's here only because nothing more interesting occupied his time.

"You really don't have to stay, you know" I say awkwardly. "I mean, you've already done enough, and I'm completely okay. I can get a ride home with the girls."

"But you'll be all alone in here" He notes, frowning.

"It's okay" I chirp, trying to mimic Ginny's perkiness. "I have Tetris on my phone"

"That's still means you'll be alone" He says. "It's kinda scary to be alone in a hospital." He leans back, and for some reason I still half expect him to get up and leave right away, but he stays put.

"You... really don't mind staying?" I finally ask.

"Nah" He answers, and gives me a sheepish smile. "I told you, I don't have anything else to do."

"No plans for the weekend?" I tease.

"I did" He shrugs. "But my best friend isn't talking to me, and the girl I like said needs some space. So today I just did laundry."

This time, I'm flabbergasted, which I only recently learned didn't really mean _'passing a lot of gas_'. I briefly consider that Dez is trying to guilt me back into going out with him, but then I realize he's probably just being honest. Honest and straightforward, like how he always is. It dawns on me that I'm probably treating Dez terribly, what with avoiding him all week, calling him out of the blue for a ride to the hospital, and then kicking him out after.

"Dez?" I finally say after the what felt like the longest pause. "Thanks for coming... and staying" I say.

"It's no problem" He answers, giving me a smile that goes all the way up to his eyes, and before I lose my nerve, I lean over to kiss him on the cheek.

...

As far as X-rays go, it was pretty uninteresting. The only unfortunate thing about it was that I had to take my shirt off again and change into a hospital _gown,_ which really only made me uncomfortable for about five seconds.

In fact, I spent most of the procedure blanking out and wondering if Madame Fanny would still give me a part in the recital. If she is, it's _definitely _not going to be in the Pas de Deux.

As the nurse wheels me out of the X-ray room- which, by the way, I found completely unnecessary- I hear muffled shouting coming from the ER.

"Dude, how are you doing this to me? _Again_?" Charlie shouts, angrily facing Dez. The previously sleepy nurse is between both of them, trying to keep Charlie away from Dez.

_Crap! __Now_ Charlie's here?!

"It's not what you think, bro" Dez tries to say, trying to keep calm.

"Don't_ bro_ me. I can't believe you're still sneaking around my back!" Charlie spits out. He whirls around to face me angrily. "And _you're_ no better!"

"Charlie, what are you doing here?" I ask, which probably isn't the best question to get him to calm down.

"I'm picking you up,_ sis_" He sneers. "I get a hysterical call from mom, saying you were in some _Ballet_ accident, and I come here to find _Dez_, _again_. Was it really a ballet accident? Should I call _Fanny Flowers_ to confirm?"

"That's no use, her new phone is touchscreen and she can't figure it out yet" I mumble, exasperated.

"What the hell were you doing, anyway?" Charlie continues, his ears red. "Are you going to send my sister home with something broken every weekend? That, along with some of your _spit fest cupcakes_?" He hisses, turning around to face Dez.

"I_ fell,_ you_ idiot_!" I finally shout and get up from the wheelchair.. "I_ fell_, at _ballet_. That's_ it_. Ask Carl, ask Boo, ask the whole damn town!"

"Then why is this_ doofus_ even here? Or are tights and tutus your thing now too, Dez?" Charlie hisses.

"He's here because you don't answer your damn phone, Charlie!" I shout, kicking my wheelchair out of the way. "You never do! You're probably doing _nothing_, but God forbid you answer when I call!"

I'm breathing heavily, and I hear the nurse trying to calm me down, but I'm pissed now. I'm more than pissed, I'm _belligerent_, which is SAT for pretty fucking mad.

"Dez is here, because for _once_ in my _life_, _someone_ paid attention to_ me_!" I say. "Not you, not Dad,_ Dez_. And that's why he's here! Because_ he_ picked up his phone when _you_ couldn't!"

"Mel-" Dez starts, trying to get the second Segal sibling to calm down but I hold my hand up to him, indicating that he should just back off.

"And you know what else, Charlie? _I'm sorry._ I'm sorry you feel angry, or betrayed, or whatever it is you feel._ I'm sorry,_ I really am. But you know what I'm _not_ sorry for? I'm not sorry for going out with your best friend, and _having a good time_. And if you don't like it, then it's fine! But talk to me like a damn adult. Don't come in here, throwing a fit, and acting like a damn _child_!"

I kick the wheelchair again out of anger and shove some stuff off the nurse station's counter for extra effect, which is ironic seeing how I just told Charlie to stop acting like a child. I turn on my heel and walk out, leaving Charlie visibly shell shocked. I slam the glass door on my way out and it makes that weird slapping sound that glass doors have. I see the intern stumble into the hallway looking confused and with another fresh drool stain on his shirt.

"What was all that noise?" He asks me, yawning.

"A druggie came in and tried to con the nurse into giving him some heavy pain killers" I say, starting to feel the tears sting my eyes. "He's brown haired and kinda looks like me. I think you'll need to sedate him"

"Oh, okay" the intern frowns, still confused and makes his way to the ER.

I roll my shoulders back and keep walking up the hall, brushing a tear away with the back of my hand. I don't exactly know where I'm going, and I probably can't leave the hospital just yet, but I do know I sure as hell can't see Charlie's face without breaking it anytime soon.

***A/N: I hope you guys haven't forgotten about this fic ;) I know I haven't :)****  
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